Ground handling wheels for air cushion landing gear

ABSTRACT

An air cushion vehicle support system having an inflatable, flexible, air cushion trunk carried by the undersurface of a rigid body. The trunk has a lower peripheral surface provided to be supported by a cushion of air emitted therefrom and creating an escape gap between the lower peripheral surface and a reaction surface. A plurality of rollers are substantially recessed along the lower peripheral surface in a first position and are downwardly extendible to a second position substantially below the lower peripheral surface for continuous contact with the reaction surface during rolling of the vehicle thereon.

United States Patent 1191 Taylor [111 1 3,807,524 Apr. 30, 1974 GROUND HANDLING WHEELS FQR AIR CUSHION LANDING GEAR [75] Inventor: Robert M. Taylor, Vienna, Va.

22 Filed: Apr. 24, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 247,113

Noble 180/119 x I FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,166,562 l0/l969 Great Britain 180/119 Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-Terrance L. Siemens Attorney, Agent, or Firm-R. S. Sciascia; Q. Hodges [57] ABSTRACT An air cushion vehicle support system having an inflatable, flexible, air cushion trunk carried by the undersurface of a rigid body. The trunk has a lower peripheral surface provided to be supported by a cushion of air emitted therefrom and creating an escape gap between the lower peripheral surface and a reaction surface. A plurality of rollers are substantially recessed along the lower peripheral surface in a first position and are downwardly extendible to a second position substantially below the lower peripheral surface for continuous contact with the reaction surface during rolling of the vehicle thereon.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 30 1974 SHEEI 1 OF 2 FIG,

GROUND HANDLING WHEELS FOR AIR CUSHION LANDING GEAR The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for Governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to surface effect vehicles and specifically to those having an expansible chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART An air cushion landing gear system (ACLG) has been developed for airborne vehicles including a ground contacting braking and/or manueveringcontrol device. The braking-manuevering device comprises a series of extendible pads spaced along the lower peripheral surface, or footprint area, of the ACLG trunk. The braking-manuevering device may be used to manuever the vehicle while taxiing over a reaction surface such as the ground or the deck of a ship. This is accomplished by selective regulation of the pads alternately extended to contact the reaction surface as the vehicle is lifted due to the cushion created by the ACLG system. Thus, in order to taxi the vehicle and manuever it over the reaction surface it is necessary that the ACLG engine be running and the trunk inflated. As a result, the cushioning blast of air from the trunk creates a substantial air circulation in the vicinity of the vehicle so that there is a possibility of foreign objects being propelled by the blast and inflicting damage or injury to the vehicle or to personnel. Also, while the vehicle is lifted by the air cushion, there is no contact with the surface and the vehicle is subject to being blown around by the wind. The brake pads will hold the vehicle in place but when manuevering is to be accomplished and only relatively few of the pads are in alternating contact with the surface, the influence of the wind on the vehicle may be substantial. It would therefore be advantageous to be able to manuever such vehicles about the reaction surface without the need for lift air to be flowing from the ACLG trunk. Also, it would be an added advantage to be able to accomplish manueverability while maintaining the vehicle in continuous contact with the surface to lessen the influence of the wind.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been discovered, according to the present invention, that ACLG equipped vehicles may be manuevered on the reaction surface without the need forlift air to be flowing from the ACLG trunk. Also, such manueverability may be accomplished while maintaining the vehicle in continuous contact with the surface thus lessening the wind influence thereon. The foregoing is accomplished by the use of a plurality of rollers substantially recessed along the lower peripheral surface in a first position and downwardly extendible to a second position substantially below the peripheral surface for continuous contact with the reaction surface to provide rolling mobility of the vehicle thereon.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an ACLG equipped vehicle to be manueverable while in continuous contact with a reaction surface;

It is a further object of the instant invention to accomplish such manueverability without the need for lift air flowing from the ACLG trunk;

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS section illustrating a roller in the first or recessed position; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial front elevation in crosssection illustrating the roller of FIG. 3 in the second or extended position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED- EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein is shown in FIG. 1 the general environment of the present invention, an air cushion vehicle support system 10 includes an inflatable flexible air cushion trunk 12 carried by the undersurface of a rigid body or vehicle 14. Trunk 12 has a lower peripheral surface 16 provided to be supported by a cushion of air emitted therefrom through openings 18. The air flowing from trunk 12 creates an escape gap between the lower peripheral surface 16 and a reaction surface 20 such as the ground or the deck of a ship.

In order to create the desired air cushion, air must be provided to flow from trunk 12 through openings 18 at a substantial rate. Upon landing, the ACLG aircraft may utilize a plurality of brake pads 22 which are inflatably downwardly extendible from the lower surface 16 toward the reaction surface 20 for frictional engagement therewith. Once braking is accomplished, the ACLG power is shut down and in order to prevent the complete collapse of trunk 12, a parking bladder 24 within trunk 12 is inflated to support the vehicle 14 I while at rest on surface 20, see FIG. 2.

When vehicle 14 is to be moved or repositioned on surface 20, a plurality of roller means generally designated 26, FIG. I, in a first position substantially recessed along the lower peripheral surface 16, see also FIG. 3, are downwardly extended to a second position substantially below the lower peripheral surface 16, see FIG. 4. In this manner, the wheel or roller means 26 is in position for continuous contact with reaction surface 20 to provide vehicle 14 with rolling mobility thereon.

Again in FIG. I, a substantial volume of ACLG air is required to maintain trunk 12 filled while providing the flow necessary to create the air cushion. A power means, as for example a compressed air supply, indicated by brake manifold 28, provides air independently of the ACLG air through conduit 30 and ultimately to the inflatably extendible brake pads 22. Similarly, a power means such as a compressed air supply indicated by wheel manifold 32 is connected to provide an air supply independently of the ACLG air through conduit 34 and ultimately to the inflatably extendible wheel means 26. In this manner, the power means is connected to downwardly extend the rollers from the first to the second positions.

Roller means 26 generally comprises a wheel housing designated 36 and carried by trunk 12. A wheel 44 is mounted within housing 36 for downward extension from the first to the second position, FIGS. 3 and 4. The compressed air is connected to actuate the wheels for downward extension thereof. This is accomplished when housing 36 is inflated due to air expanding the resilient bladder 54.

Housing 36 includes a substantially rigid cup 38, preferably molded of a suitable combination of rubber and fabric. Cup 38 is generally a dome-like structure including a lower peripheral edge 40 and an opening 42 at the apex thereof for connection to conduit 34.

Cup 38 is substantially air-tight and mounted in lower peripheral surface 16 of trunk 12 by means of a ring 46 appropriately shaped to accommodate lower edge 40 of cup 38. Ring 46 as shown includes upper and lower vertical receiving edge portions 48 and 50 respectively and a horizontal receiving edge portion 52. Upper receiving edge 48 is provided for suitable air-tight attachment-to lower edge 40 of cup 38. Horizontal edge 52 of ring 46 is provided for suitable attachment to lower edge 16 of trunk 12.

A flexible resilient bladder 54 is preferably a combination of rubber and fabric and is included in housing 36. Bladder 54 is preferably air-tight connected at one endthereof 56 to cup 38 by means of a ring 46 at lower vertical portion 50. Bladder 54 is substantially air-tight connected at the other edge thereof 58 to a wheel mounting means designated 60. In this manner, bladder 54 forms a lower portion of housing 36.

A substantially rigid wheel support housing 62, preferably metal, is suitably connected to wheel mounting means 60. Wheelmounting means 60 maycomprise a metal structure having a continuous ring-like or rectangular-like configuration. A first or upper portion 64 of mounting means 60, as viewed in the drawings, is suitably adapted for connection to wheel support housing 62, and a lower or second portion 66 of mounting means 60 is adapted for suitable-connection to end 58 of bladder 54.

Wheel 44 is preferably bearing mounted in wheel mounting means 60 by means of axial extensions 68 protruding laterally of wheels 44 and retained in position by hubs 70. Also, resilient means 72 is mounted within housing 36 so as to urge'wheel support housing 62 upwards as viewed in the drawing toward the apex of rigid cup 38. In this manner, wheels 44 will tend to retract automatically when the air supply to housing 38 is cut off, see FIG. 3.

The power means included in roller means 26 includes a compressed air source operable independently of the air used to create the escape gap. The air source is supplied by means of wheel air manifold 32 through conduit 34 connecting the air source to housing 36. In this manner, when the wheel housing air source is actuated, air flows from the source to the housing .to inflate or expand the volume of the housing due to the resiliency of bladder 54 thus downwardly extending the wheels 44 beyond the lower peripheral surface 16 of trunk 12, see FIG. 4.

lnoperation, when vehicle 14 is landed on-a reaction surface 20, parking bladder 24 is expanded to supportthe vehicle without the need for the ACLG air to maintain trunk 12 inflated. If it is desired to relocate the vehicle 14, roller means 26 are inflatably extended by means of an air source acting independently of the ACLG air source. Wheels 44, normally in a first or retracted position, are thus inflatably extended to a second position below the lower surface 16 to be in continuous contact with surface 20. Thus the plurality of wheels 44 support the vehicle 14 for rolling mobility on surface 20. The substantially air-tight housing 36 maintains wheels 44 extending until the vehicle has been relocated on surface 20 at which time the air supply to housing 36 may be discontinued and resilient means 72 will gradually urge wheels 44 toward the apex of cup 38 thus causing wheels 44 to retract from the second position back into the first position.

The foregoing describes a suitable air cushion vehicle support system including a plurality of rollers inflatably extendible for continuous contact with the reaction surface during rolling of the vehicle thereon.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

'What is claimed is:

1. In an air cushion support system of the type including an inflatable flexible air cushion trunk carried by the' undersurface of a rigid vehicle body wherein the trunk has a lower'peripheral surface supported by a cushion of air emitted therefrom and creating an escape gap between the lower peripheral surface and a reaction surface, the improvement comprising:

a plurality of roller means in a first position substantially recessed along the lower peripheral surface and downwardly extendible, independently of said air cushion trunk, to a second position substantially below the lower peripheral surface for continuous contact with the reaction surface during rolling of the vehicle thereon; and power means connected to downwardly extend the roller meansfrom the first to the second position, said power means comprising a supply of compressed air operable independently of the air used to create the escape gap, wherein each of the roller means comprises:

a wheel housing carried by the trunk;

a wheel mounted within the housing for downward extension from the first to the second position; and 7 power means connected to actuate the wheels for the downward extension thereof, said housing comprising:

a substantially rigid cup mounted in the lower periph-- eral surface of the trunk;

a resilient bladder connected to the cup to form a lower portion of the housing; I

a substantially rigid wheel support housing;

wheel mounting means having the wheel support housing connected to a first portion thereof and having the bladder connected to a second portion thereof lower than the first portion; and

resilient means mounted within the housing to urge the wheel support housing from the second position to the first position.

2. The system of claim it wherein the power means comprises:

3,807,524 6 a compressed air source operable independently of to the housing to expand the flexible bladder thus the air used to create the escape gap;.and downwardly extending the wheels beyond the peconduit means connecting the source to the housing, ripheral surface of the trunk.

whereby upon actuation, air flows from the source 

1. In an air cushion support system of the type including an inflatable flexible air cushion trunk carried by the undersurface of a rigid vehicle body wherein the trunk has a lower peripheral surface supported by a cushion of air emitted therefrom and creating an escape gap between the lower peripheral surface and a reaction surface, the improvement comprising: a plurality of roller means in a first position substantially recessed along the lower peripheral surface and downwardly extendible, independently of said air cushion trunk, to a second position substantially below the lower peripheral surface for continuous contact with the reaction surface during rolling of the vehicle thereon; and power means connected to downwardly extend the roller means from the first to the second position, said power means comprising a supply of compressed air operable independently of the air used to create the escape gap, wherein each of the roller means comprises: a wheel housing carried by the trunk; a wheel mounted within the housing for downward extension from the first to the second position; and power means connected to actuate the wheels for the downward extension thereof, said housing comprising: a substantially rigid cup mounted in the lower peripheral surface of the trunk; a resilient bladder connected to the cup to form a lower portion of the housing; a substantially rigid wheel support housing; wheel mounting means having the wheel support housing connected to a first portion thereof and having the bladder connected to a second portion thereof lower than the first portion; and resilient means mounted within the housing to urge the wheel support housing from the second position to the first position.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the power means comprises: a compressed air source operable independently of the air used to create the escape gap; and conduit means connecting the source to the housing, whereby upon actuation, air flows from the source to the housing to expand the flexible bladder thus downwardly extending the wheels beyond the peripheral surface of the trunk. 